The Washington Post said that it obtained photos of a drone belonging to journalist Mustafa Thuraya, who was killed by Israeli forces along with his colleague Hamza al-Dahdouh (son of Wael al-Dahdouh, director of Al Jazeera’s office in Gaza) on January 7, stressing that the photos raise questions about the Israeli justification for the journalists killing .

The newspaper indicated that it conducted interviews with 14 witnesses and with Hamza and Mustafa’s colleagues and found no indication that any of them was involved in any activity not related to his journalistic work on the day of the assassination.

It also pointed out that the drone photos do not show any Israeli soldiers or military equipment, despite Israel’s claim that it targeted a “terrorist” who was operating an aircraft that poses a threat to the Israeli army.

It said that it commissioned two experts to review satellite images taken by Planet Lab and Airbus on January 7 near the launch site of Mustafa Thuraya’s drone, and they did not find any evidence of military deployment or armed activity in the region during that day.

She added that journalists Hamza and Mustafa crossed Israeli checkpoints on their way to southern Gaza from its north in the first days of the start of the war on the Strip.

It also stated that Hamza al-Dahdouh had obtained approval to leave Gaza before being targeted by Israel, a “rare privilege” not granted to militants.

The newspaper quoted the United Nations Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, Irene Khan, as saying that Israel must investigate the killing of journalists Hamza and Mustafa, and that it is not enough for Tel Aviv to say that it suspected the journalists and killed them.

Israel recognizes

It is noteworthy that the Israeli army had admitted to targeting the car of fellow journalist Hamza Al-Dahdouh and his colleague Mustafa Thuraya while they were performing a press mission in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, claiming that they were “terrorist elements.”

The occupation army claimed that the two journalists were flying drones in a way that posed a threat to the Israeli forces before the raid that caused their martyrdom.

He also claimed that Al-Dahdouh Jr. is a member of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad Movement, and that Thuraya is a member of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), claiming that he “found documents on the battlefield in Gaza” indicating the organizational structures of the Palestinian factions and in which the names of these two journalists were mentioned.

The Israeli occupation forces systematically targeted our colleague Al-Dahdouh Sr. and his family since the start of the war on Gaza. His wife, son, daughter, and grandson were martyred in November 2023. He and his colleague, the martyr photographer Samer Abu Daqqa, were also targeted in December 2023.

Source: Al Jazeera + Washington Post